


To Look Underneath: Years One and Two

by The_Sarcastic_Witch



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: All Relationships Are in the Future, Alternate Universe, BAMF Lily Evans Potter, Child Abuse, Eventual James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Eventual Romance, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Good Severus Snape, Gryffindor Severus Snape, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape Friendship, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Narcissa Black Malfoy & Severus Snape Friendship, POV Third Person Limited, Remus Lupin & Lily Evans Potter Friendship, Severus Snape is Canonically a Genius, Severus Snape is a Little Shit, Walburga Black's A+ Parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:41:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26238037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Sarcastic_Witch/pseuds/The_Sarcastic_Witch
Summary: In a universe where the Sorting Hat looks a little bit deeper into the characters of the children it categorizes, Severus Snape is sorted into Gryffindor while Peter Pettigrew goes into Slytherin. This may change everything, or it may change nothing. But one thing is certain: Middle School, magical or not, is most definitely not easy. Join Severus and his friends and foes as they try to navigate this most difficult of battles. Disclaimer (In case anyone cares): I don't own anything you recognize! (Shocking, I know.)
Relationships: All Romance in the Future, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape, Narcissa Black Malfoy & Severus Snape, Remus Lupin & Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black & James Potter, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & James Potter & Severus Snape, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, They're 11 and 12 Y'all
Comments: 30
Kudos: 96





	1. Sorting and Sarcasm

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thanks so much for reading. I hope you like it. If you do, or if you think it could be better, please let me know in the comments! I have done my best to be true to dialect, but let me know if there's something I should change. Also, I don't have a beta, so all mistakes are mine and mine alone! The next update will probably come within the next couple of weeks, but I'm not at a point where I can write if I'm not seized by inspiration yet. Sorry. I can't, nor will I try to, claim ownership of anything you recognize from Harry Potter or anywhere else.  
> Enjoy!  
> -TSW  
> Edit: Yay for 1,200 reads!!! Thank you all so very much. This is very exciting!

Severus stood towards the back of the line of first years with the other S-names. He watched nervously as Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on Lily, his very best friend in the entire world. “Please, please let her get Slytherin,” he prayed desperately to whoever was listening. Either no one heard him, or no one cared because after around thirty seconds, the hat screamed: GRYFFINDOR! “Well,” he thought with icy-cold determination, “I’ll just have to trick the hat into thinking I’m a Gryffindor.” As the lined slowly moved forward Severus thought brave things as hard as he could. Finally, it was his turn. The hat was placed gently on his head. He thought about Lions as hard as he could. Suddenly, there was a little voice in his ear.

 _Hmm. So, you thought you could trick me, eh? Well that’s mighty Slytherin of you. But I wonder why you want to trick me. Huh. To be with your friend. Well, let’s take a look. Plenty of ambition, lots of cunning, a great desire to prove yourself. Seems pretty Slytherin to me. But let’s look a little more closely. You’ve got a ferocious desire-no, a need-to protect those you love, loyalty in spades, and a near-endless well of courage buried deep, deep within. You’d do very well in Slytherin, but you seem to me like a true:_ GRYFFINDOR!

Dazed, Severus stumbled off the stage and next to Lily, who wore a look of both surprise and fierce joy.

“Sev! We’re in the same house! WE’RE IN THE SAME HOUSE!!! Yahoo!” She whooped. He shook his head affectionately at her and smiled. She stopped cheering and looked at him curiously. “To be honest, I would have thought you’d be a Slytherin.” He nodded.

“The hat thought so too, at first,” he told her quietly, “but then it said that I was a true Gryffindor, just deep down. I think it meant that my strengths might be something I have in common with Slytherins, but my character is Gryffindor.” Lily smiled at him and nodded.

“I think so, too.” By that time, the Sorting was over and the feast had begun. He and Lily talked excitedly through the whole feast about what the classes would be like, and some older students told them a bit about what to expect. A kindly sixth year, Molly Prewett, explained to them that she was a Prefect, and to ask her or her boyfriend Arthur Weasley, also a Prefect, if they needed anything. They didn’t see the mean boys from the train, which Severus was happy about, although he realized that he would be living with them. He carefully looked around for the other first year boys and saw the two dark-haired boys were sitting together and giggling and that the plump boy that had sat with them on the train had been sorted into Slytherin. There was one more first year boy, who he saw sitting with his nose stuck in a book. _Hogwarts, A History_. Good choice. Perhaps they could be friends. Lily was saying something, and he focused back on their conversation, and before he knew it, the feast was over and the male prefect, Arthur, was calling the first-year boys over. He quickly hugged Lily, waved good-bye to Molly, and scrambled off to where Arthur was standing. He was shooting red and gold sparks from his wand.

“ _Awesome,”_ Severus whispered to himself. Arthur heard and grinned down at him.

“I know, right? You’ll learn how to do that a few weeks from now in Professor Nagai’s Charms class. I’m Arthur, and I’m one of your Prefects, like I saw Molls tell you. What’s your name?” he asked Severus cheerfully.

“Severus Snape.” He was going to like Arthur, Severus decided. The prefect just had a way about him that immediately made him feel comfortable. He heard soft footsteps behind him and turned around. Boy-with-a-book gave him a tiny smile and stepped next to him. He was small and skinny, with straw-straight brown hair and a whole lot of freckles. He had scars crisscrossing all over his face, but his most striking feature was his amber eyes. Arthur crouched down in front of the tiny boy and stuck out a hand.

“Hello. My name is Arthur Weasley. I’m going to be one of your prefects. What’s your name?” Before they boy could answer, there was a crash behind them, and Severus turned to see one of the dark haired boys holding a pair of glasses he was pretty sure did not belong to him, and the other lying on the floor, looking dazed. Arthur rolled his eyes and walked over to the boy on the floor. He grabbed klutz-boy’s hands and hauled him to his feet.

“For Merlin’s sake, James,” Arthur said exasperatedly, “you haven’t even been here two hours and you’ve already nearly injured yourself. Your mother is going to kill me!” Klutz-boy, who apparently was called James grinned and took his glasses from the boy next to him.

“Aww, Arthur. One would think you were worried about me,” James cooed.

“Of course I’m worried about you, you prat! If you get hurt on my watch, your mum gets mad at me. If your mum gets mad at me, she’ll tell her best friend, aka my mother. If your mum complains about me to my mum, my mum will be mad at me. And if my mum is mad at me, she’ll send me a Howler. So, to sum that up for your tiny brain, you get injured, and the next thing I know, my mum’s screaming at me over breakfast for the whole school to hear.” Yes, Severus decided as he sidled into a corner to get away from the hullabaloo, he was definitely going to like Arthur. _I don’t know about those boys, though. Boy-with-a-book has god taste in reading material, but what if he doesn’t like me? And what if James and his friend keep being mean to me like they were on the train? And what if-_ Severus’ thoughts were interrupted by someone saying his name.

“Huh?” Arthur smiled at him.

“There you are. I thought I’d lost you. Come on, I’m going to show you boys how to get to your dorms. Follow me, and make sure you remember the route we take. You’re going to want to remember how to get to Gryffindor Tower.” 

They walked out from the Great Hall and down a staircase- _Ok, that staircase moves, because that makes so much sense_ -into a tower, through a great many more staircase, and through a corridor. A portrait hung on the wall at the end of the corridor. It showed a very fat woman wearing an absolute monstrosity of a pink silk dress. She looked over them disinterestedly.

“Password?” She asked.

“Pumpernickel,” Arthur said. The portrait swung open, revealing a large hole in the wall. Arthur climbed through and said over his shoulder, “Now, you’ll really want to remember the password. Any time it changes will be posted on the bulletin board, or you can ask me.” James and his friend climbed through the portrait hole and Severus followed. Remembering how tiny Boy-with-a-book was, Severus turned just in time to help him down from the portrait hole. The boy gave him a tiny smile in thanks. Severus looked around, taking in the cozy-looking armchair and the crackling fire. He scurried over to where Arthur was standing, a few meters away. Boy-with-a-book followed.

“Now,” Arthur was saying, “this is the Common Room. This is the place to study, hang out with your friends, or simply relax. You must be inside Gryffindor Tower before 9 pm, which is lights out.” He led them over to two swooping staircases. Arthur pointed to the left. “Those are the girls’ dormitories. Don’t bother trying to get up there. To your right is the boys’. The door to your dormitory is marked with a number 1. You boys got lucky, yours is only the second one up.” Severus and the other boys trooped up the stairs and into the room. Their trunks had been brought up. His bed was to the far left, as far from the door as possible. Excellent. The bed next to him was James. Rats. He mentally shrugged and began to put away his things. As he opened the chest of drawers with his name on it, James bounded up next to him.

"Hello! Seems like we got off on the wrong foot, eh? I’m sorry I was so nasty to you. I’m James. James Potter,” he said cheerily, bouncing up and down. _Huh. Perhaps he isn’t so awful, after all._

“Severus Snape,” he responded, sticking out his hand. James shook it with a painful degree of enthusiasm.

“Hey Sirius, c’mere! This bloke shakes hands! Innit that awesome?” James said excitedly, which Severus was starting to suspect was how he did everything. James’ friend, who he now knew was called Sirius, swaggered over.

“The name’s Black. Sirius Black,” he said with a great deal of arrogance, pomp, and circumstance. His accent was so unbelievably posh it was sort of ridiculous.

“Pleasure. I’m Severus Snape.”

“You did hear me, right? I’m Sirius _Black_.”

“I have no idea what purpose repeating your name at me serves. Your first name is unusual, but your last name really isn’t special.”

“Are you kidding? Everybody in Hogwarts knows who my family is!”

“I’m ever so sorry your highness. I had no idea that sharing a surname with a colour makes you royalty in the Wizarding world,” Severus said, and bowed exaggeratedly. Sirius stared at him, mouth hanging open. “Do close your mouth. You’ll catch flies.” There was a snort from the bed on the other side of James. Severus walked over to see Boy-with-a-book was holding his book and laughing quietly. Severus gave him a small smile and a wave. “Hi. I’m Severus. You’ve got good taste. In book, I mean. I love _Hogwarts: A History_.”

“I’m Remus. Remus Lupin. And thanks. It’s one of my favorites.” _Lupin. Where had he heard that name?_ His thoughts were interrupted by James groaning loudly.

“Heaven help us, Sirius! We’re going to be stuck with a couple of swots for the next seven years,” he said theatrically. The affect was rather ruined by the ridiculous grin on his face. Severus couldn’t help but smile in return. All of the sudden, Remus gave an immense yawn. James giggled and clapped his hands together.

“Well, lads, shall we take that as a signal to turn in for the night?” They all nodded, suddenly feeling the exhaustion of a long day. Severus quickly finished putting away his clothes, got ready for bed, and was asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow.


	2. Breakfast and Buzzers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovely readers!   
> I hope you enjoy. Please leave comments, or at least kudos, if you do, or if you don't.  
> Peace, love, and dark chocolate brownies,  
> TSW

Severus was in the middle of a very strange dream. He was tied to a chair with red and gold ropes, being interrogated by someone who looked quite like Headmaster Dumbledore, and they were shaking him. The person tweaked his nose, and Severus woke up with a jolt to see James sitting in front of him, looking far too pleased with himself.

“What. Do. You. Want?” he spat. James looked completely unperturbed by his malice.

“It’s breakfast time! Come down to eat with me, and we can get our schedules,” he said brightly, looking much to chipper for the morning.

“What time is it?”

“7:30.” Severus looked at him in shock.

“You utter, utter pillock,” he said ferociously, “you woke me up at 7:30 in the morning? What on Earth is wrong with you?”

“Well-”

“Don’t answer that! Either go back to sleep, go the Great Hall by yourself, or get Sirius to go with you! Just sod off!” James looked at him calculatingly, seemed to decide that he was serious, and got out of his bed. Severus sighed in relief and sunk back under the covers. He vaguely heard James pounce on Sirius, who-rather impressively-kicked him off the bed in one fell swoop. He then moved on to Remus, who seemed to already be awake and reading, if James’ simultaneous delight and disgust was anything to go by. Remus and James left, and Severus fell back asleep.

When he woke again an hour later, like a normal human, Severus dressed quickly, filled his beloved old messenger bag with his school things, and headed down to the Common Room. Lily was waiting for him in an armchair near the portrait hole, talking animatedly to Molly. He bounded over to them. Lily saw him and jumped out of her seat in great excitement. She grabbed his hands and spun him around happily.

“We are in the same house, I’ve got my Severus with me,” she sang to the tune of We Are Family. Molly snorted and he shook his head at his best friend’s antics.

“C’mon, Lils! Let’s go to breakfast and get our schedules.”

“Great! Let’s go,” Lily agreed. She put one leg through the portrait hole, turned around and said, “Erm, Molly? How do we get to the Great Hall?” Molly smiled and explained to them how to get to breakfast.

Carefully following Molly’s thorough directions, Severus and Lily found their way to the Great Hall. They ran through the doors and looked for the Gryffindor table. James spotted them and waved exuberantly, causing him to fall over. Severus started to head toward him when he felt Lily’s hand on his arm.

“Wasn’t he one of those awful boys from the train?” she asked.

“Yeah, but he apologized. We’re cool.”

“I still don’t like him. He’s rather arrogant.”

“Yeah, but if you think he’s arrogant, you should meet Sirius. But we don’t have to sit with him if you don’t want to.”

“Eh, I’ll give him another chance. But if he’s a git, we’re sitting with my dormmates.”

“Deal.” With that Severus and Lily made their way over to where James and Remus were sitting. Severus took the place across from James, and Lily plunked down next to him. Remus gave them a shy wave over today’s book, which was a biography of Merlin that Severus hadn’t read. He waved back. Lily smiled at Remus.

“Hullo. What’s your name?” she asked Remus, “Mine’s Lily Evans.”

“I’m Remus Lupin,” Remus replied.

“My name is James Potter,” James cut in exuberantly. He stuck out his hand. Lily look at it as though he was holding a dead rat.

“Pleasure,” she said icily. Severus elbowed her. She glared at him and shook James’ hand. He heard a buzzing sound and Lily jerked her hand away as James roared with laughter. Severus stared at them, confused. Lily’s eyes flashed and her lips tightened into a thin line. Severus slowly began to back his chair away. He knew that look and didn’t particularly feel like losing a limb at the moment. _Oh James, you poor naïve little fool._ The fool in question was still laughing, blissfully unaware of his imminent demise. He waved a muggle joke buzzer at Severus.

“Ah, the joys of the classics. So simple, yet so fun! I’m a genius,” James sighed, still chuckling. _I wouldn’t say that. Then again, if he survives the next five minutes, he might make a decent pranking partner, once he learns never to mess with Lily._ Who, speaking of, was sputtering with fury. And standing up. Now she was leaning over the table. Now she was making a fist… Severus leaped up and grabbed her. She glared at him as he pushed her back down forcefully.

“Lils. Do you want to get in trouble for fighting on the first day of school?”

“Fine. But I think that qualifies as being a git. We’re sitting with my friends.”

“That’s fair.” Severus turned around. “See you later, James, Remus.” Lily led them over to the right end of the table, where three girls their age sat. He and Lily sat down across from a girl with two long golden-blonde braids, warm brown eyes, and a perfect tan, which she had to have gone on a long, expensive beach holiday to have acquired. Next to her was a tiny Asian girl with chin-length straight black hair and perfectly round glasses that were much too large for her face, making her mischievous black eyes huge. On Lily’s other side sat a Middle Eastern girl with dancing gray eyes and a deep burgundy hijab decorated with a winding pattern of gold dots.

“Hey Lily! Who’s your friend?” asked Stupidly-Large-Glasses Girl. _SLG Girl for short, I think._

“Hey Emmeline! Ladies, this is Severus, my best friend.” He gave an awkward wave. “Sev, these are my dorm-mates, Marlene McKinnon,” she pointed towards The Beachy One, “Emmeline Vance,” SLG Girl waved, “and Dorcas Meadows,” Lily finished, gesturing at Awesome Hijab Girl, who gave a shy smile.

Introductions made, Lily and Severus loaded up their plates, and conversation continued. Severus learned that Marlene’s whole family was magic, and all three of her older brothers had gone to Hogwarts, and her older sister was a Fourth Year Ravenclaw, that Emmeline’s mother and father were magic, but her father was a muggleborn, like Lily, and that neither of Dorcas’ parents were magic, but her mother was a Squib. He told them about how his Mum was magic, and she’d gone to Hogwarts, and was a Slytherin. As Lily began to attempt to explain television to Marlene and Emmeline, Severus turned to Dorcas.

“Your hijab is awesome,” he told her.

“Thanks! Not many people know what it is.” As Severus nodded and opened his mouth to tell her about the mosque near his house, Professor McGonagall walked up to them and handed them each their schedule. Lily skimmed over hers and peered over Severus’ shoulder as he examined his.

“Sev! I think we have all the same classes!”

“Really? Yay!” Marlene snorted affectionately at them.

“All First-Years have all their classes with the other First-Years in their house,” she explained.

“Wait. So I’m going to have _Potter_ in all my classes?!” Lily shrieked. Severus grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What sort of prank do y'all think James should do next?


	3. Matches and Muffling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which classes begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dear readers,  
> I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've updated! School has been kicking my butt. As always, thank you so much for reading! Comments and Kudos are my favorite things!  
> Peace, love, and Sour Patch Kids,  
> TSW  
> P.S. Anything you recognize does not belong to me!

Severus walked with Lily, Marlene, Dorcas, and Emmeline to the first class of the day, Transfiguration. They had left breakfast early, so they were the first to arrive. Professor McGonagall stood outside the door. For the first time, Severus got a good look at her. Their Head of House wore emerald green robes, a dark green wizard hat, and square wire-rimmed glasses. She had grey-streaked auburn hair twisted into a severe bun at the nape of her neck. _She definitely does not seem like someone it would be wise to cross._ She nodded sharply at them.

“You five are here early. You may have first pick of the seats.” She opened the door and waved them into a room filled with desks placed in neat half-circles. “There shall be two, and only two, students to a desk,” said Professor McGonagall sharply. Severus and the girls looked at each other awkwardly. Emmeline broke the silence.

“You guys can sit together. My twin was sorted into Hufflepuff, so I’ll sit with her.” Severus and Lily took a desk right in front of the blackboard, Dorcas and Marlene sat a few rows behind them, and Emmeline tossed her things on a desk in the back. Professor McGonagall returned to her post at the door. The rest of the class slowly filtered in. Remus sat down in the desk next to Lily and Severus and James and Sirius chose a desk in the back. A girl Severus figured to be Emmeline’s twin sat down next to her. She and Emmeline had the same eyes, but that was where the similarities ended. The Twin was tall where Emmeline was short, hair in a long braid where Emmeline had a bob, and her uniform pristine while Emmeline’s was messy. A Hufflepuff boy was the last one in, and he plunked down next to Remus. Professor McGonagall entered the classroom after him. She walked up to the front of the class, and everyone immediately shut up. She stood in front of her desk and looked at the students over the top of her glasses.

“Good morning, students. I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, Head of Gryffindor House, and Transfiguration Professor. Normally, you would be with your Head of House for your Hogwarts introduction, but Professor Kettleburn, the Hufflepuff Head of House, is currently in the hospital. There is no need to worry, he should be back in a week or two. So, Hufflepuffs, your orientation shall be with me. After orientation, Hufflepuffs will go to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Now, down to business. You have already been Sorted, so you understand a bit about your houses, and I’m sure you’ve heard, and wondered, about the house cup, a great honor. The house cup is awarded at the end of the year to the house with the most house points. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will be rewarded with house points, and any rule-breaking will result in points being deducted. A list of school rules can be found posted outside of Mr. Filch’s office door. The main rules are as follows: Students will not be outside of their common rooms after curfew, which is 9:00 pm for first years. There will be no magic in the halls between classes. The Forbidden Forest is, in fact, forbidden, and disrespect and disorderliness will be punished with either a deduction of house points or detention. If you feel a punishment is unfair or disproportionate, see Madame Giustizia. Any questions?” Nobody raised their hands. “Very well. Hufflepuffs, you are dismissed.”

As the Hufflepuffs hurried out, Professor McGonagall wrote TRANSFIGURATION in perfect capitals on the blackboard.

“Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts,” she said. “Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. There will be absolutely no second chances. You have been warned.” Then, she changed her desk into a kangaroo and back again. They were all very impressed and excited to begin, but soon realized they were a long way from turning furniture into animals. After a great deal of needlessly, at least in Severus’ opinion, complicated notes, they were each handed a match and started trying to turn it into a needle.

* * *

Half an hour later, Severus poked his match with his wand.

_“Accus.”_ he huffed, for the fifty-fourth time. Next to him, Lily was declaring the spell with great feeling, and exactly as much success as Severus. James had succeeded five minutes ago, and Lily was, in a word, displeased.

“Darn it! Why won’t the stupid thing just turn into a needle? _Accus,_ _accus, ACCUS,_ ” she hissed. Severus resisted the urge to laugh at her and continued trying. By the end of the lesson, James was the only one who had completely Transfigured his match, but Lily’s was silver and Severus’ was pointy. Professor McGonagall nodded at them and awarded five points each to Gryffindor. After they were dismissed, Severus walked with Lily, Emmeline, Dorcas, and Remus to Charms, Marlene, Sirius, and James not far behind.

They eventually found the Charms classroom, and Emmeline began to pull the door open, but it seemed to be locked. When she tried to move her hand from the doorknob, she gave a yelp.

“My sodding hand is stuck! My hand is stuck to the bloody doorknob!” she cried. Lily looked at her as if she’d lost her marbles. She grabbed Emmeline’s hand and gave a tug. Nothing happened. That is, until Lily went to take her hand off Emmeline’s.

“I’m stuck too!” she shrieked. Emmeline began to flail around. She caught Dorcas in the face, and her hand got stuck to Dorcas’ nose. Remus attempted to pry Emmeline’s hand off Dorcas’ face, but only managed to somehow get his entire arm stuck to Dorcas’ neck. At this point, Severus could hardly breathe. He laughed so hard his bag fell to the ground. Lily gave him a dangerous look, but Emmeline began to laugh too. Soon, all five of them were convulsing with laughter. As the rest of the class began to fill the hallway, more shrieks of laughter could be heard, and more and more people began to get stuck.

About ten minutes later, the whole of the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw first-year filled the hallway, and most of them were stuck to each other. Only Severus and a couple of Ravenclaw girls remained un-stuck. Severus, having wisely made his way to the back of the line, heard footsteps, and turned around. A short, plump, Japanese woman was hurrying towards the class, grinning. She wore violet robes and a very tall violet wizard hat. She waved her wand and there was a bang. Nobody noticed over the din. She put two wrinkled fingers in her mouth and gave a piercing whistle.

“OI! Shut up, the lot of you,” she shouted. Everybody quieted down. “ _Non glutino._ ” Everyone became unstuck. She smiled down at their astonished faces. “I am Professor Nagai, and I am your Charms teacher.” She strode up to the door, waved her wand over it, and opened it. Everyone stared at her. “Well, what are you waiting for, a written invitation?” Everyone hurried into the classroom. There were five pairs of long tables lined up neatly in the room. Each table had four chairs. Severus saw Lily, Marlene, Dorcas, and Emmeline sit in the right table of the front row, and he hurried to get a seat at the front left table. He sat down in the chair by the aisle, and Remus sunk down next to him, followed by Sirius and James. The rest of the class filed in behind them. Professor Nagai stood by the blackboard. “The charm that stuck all of you together was a variation on the Temporary Sticking Charm that I invented,” she began. “You may have heard many things about Charms. Some of them good, some of them bad. Well, I invite you to drop your preconceived notions. Charms are the foundation of the Wizarding world. Unless you are turning something into something else, which is Transfiguration, any magic you do with a wand at Hogwarts will most likely be some sort of Charm. For at least the next five years, we will be learning all manner of important spells together. Work hard, try your best, and you will succeed. However, you won’t get anywhere in this class without a sense of humor. Pranks are welcome, and particularly creative uses of charms will get you extra credit.” At that, James elbowed Sirius excitedly and Remus shushed him. Professor Nagai fixed them with a look and continued. “Stupid, irreparable, and/or meanspirited pranks will not be tolerated. In short, you make the mess, you clean it up. Hopefully, this class will be enjoyable for all of us. I will not tolerate bullies, distracting other students, or overly loud bodily functions in my classroom. Other than that, as long as you complete your assignments, I don’t care how you do it. The first charm we will be learning is the Muffling charm, which I expect you to use if you are being particularly noisy…”

This time, Lily was the first to master the spell, which she did in under ten minutes. Sirius, Severus, and a few Ravenclaws followed five minutes after, Remus and James managed it twenty minutes after him, and Emmeline, Dorcas, and Marlene managed it a few minutes after. By the end of the class, almost everyone had cast the charm successfully, Lily had earned Gryffindor twenty points for mastering the spell quicker than anyone Professor Nagai had ever seen, and everyone who mastered the spell by the end of the lesson earned their house five points. After Charms, all of the first year Gryffindors headed to lunch in the Great Hall. Lily told Severus to sit with his dormmates so they could establish friendships outside of each other. Severus, knowing she was right, resigned himself to a hectic, but likely fun, lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raise your hand if you don't know how authors write so much! *Raises hand*


	4. Dormmates and Dining

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Severus attempts to save James' life, learns a new word, and discovers something about Sirius.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salutations lovely readers! It has definitely been a hot minute, but this chapter did not want to cooperate. But, nevertheless, here it is! If there are any errors, please let me know. Comments and Kudos are super awesome!  
> Peace, love, and fancy cupcakes,  
> TSW

Severus waved goodbye to Lily and walked over to where Sirius, James, and Remus sat and slid in next to Remus, who gave him a small smile.

“Well, look who finally decided to join his dormmates,” said James teasingly. Severus rolled his eyes. “I was starting to think you had abandoned us for green pastures.”

“Yes. I have abandoned you to go frolicking off in verdant fields. Soon I shall ride off into the sunset,” answered Severus, rolling his eyes again.

“Puh-lease. I seriously doubt you’ve ever frolicked a day in your life, and I don’t think you ever will. And if you keep rolling your eyes, they’re going to get stuck like that,” put in Remus as he reached across Severus for a roll. James ignored both of them and leaned across the table.

“How come you want to hang out with girls instead of us?” he asked. Severus glared at him.

“Lily is my best friend, so I want to be with her. And you were a git to her during breakfast, so she didn’t want to be around you. Which is probably a good thing for you.”

“Hey! I wasn’t a git,” said James indignantly, “I just played a harmless prank on her. The old hand buzzer barely qualifies as a real prank, anyway.” _That’s just not on. Buzzers are great._

“James, I’m going to do you a favor and attempt to save your life. Or at least your face. What you need to know is that you don’t prank Lils without issuing a Prank War Challenge through the proper channels. Or get on her bad side at all, really. You just don’t do it. It is a very, very bad idea, and will probably end with a severe and usually moderately painful bollocking, if you’re lucky, or a broken nose if you’re not.” _Or worse now that she has access to a library full of hexes and jinxes. Oh no. Ohhhhh no. Lily now has access to a library full of hexes and jinxes. We are all absolutely buggered._

“Why do you say that?” asked James belligerently. “Are you scared of her? Are you scared of a girl?” _That’s unfortunate. I was under the impression that James was not a complete ninny. Perhaps my opinion needs to be amended. He doesn’t really know Lily, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt._

“Yes. Extremely. Believe me, Lily Evans, girl or not, is very much not someone to be trifled with, especially when she’s angry. I once accidentally dropped a tree branch on her older sister, Petunia, and she nearly broke my nose.” Sirius looked up from shoveling food into his mouth.

“How do you accidentally drop a tree branch on someone?” he asked.

“She startled me! It was accidental magic. I was telling Lily about Hogwarts and magic, and Petunia was eavesdropping.” Sirius looked at him, baffled.

“Why’d you have to tell Evans about magic? She’s a witch, right?” Sirius asked.

“Lily’s a muggleborn, so none of the Evanses knew anything about magic. She had no idea she was a witch until I told her.” Sirius’ eyes widened and he made a face.

“She’s a _mudblood?”_ Sirius asked disgustedly. James spat out his mouthful of pumpkin juice in shock and rounded on Sirius.

“What the bloody hell is wrong with you?” he shrieked at Sirius. “I thought you were an alright bloke, but I guess not! If I knew how, I’d jinx the bigot right out of you! If there’s anyone who’s dirty around here, it’s you and everyone else who believes that bollocks! I’ve got half a mind to report you to McGonagall!” At his point, James was standing, purple in the face, and was waving his arms about wildly. Severus gaped at him, confused. Remus yanked at James’ robes until he sat back down, glaring furiously at Sirius, who looked about as bewildered as Severus felt.

“What’s got your knickers in a twist, mate?” Sirius asked James before he could start yelling again. James opened his mouth, closed it, and stared at Sirius as though he’d grown another head.

“What’s got my knickers in a twist, _mate_ , is that you just used a horrid word,” James answered slowly after a moment. Sirius furrowed his brow.

“What word? Mudblood? That’s a bad word?” James clapped a hand over Sirius’ mouth.

“Shh! Don’t say it, you’ll get yourself punched, or at the very least a detention! Yes, it’s a bad word. A very, very bad word.”

“What does it mean? What’s wrong with it?” Severus asked.

“It’s a really nasty word for muggleborns,” James explained. “It means ‘dirty blood.’ As if muggleborn witches and wizards are dirty and disgusting just because they don’t come from a magic bloodline.” Sirius looked even more confused.

“But aren’t they? My Mum said that mud-muggleborns are villains that stole magic from real witches and wizards,” Sirius said, looking completely lost. James looked furiously at him, and drew a deep breath, clearly preparing for another epic rant. Before he could get a word out, Remus cut in gently.

“Sirius, your Mum is wrong. You’re a Black, and one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, so I assume you’ve been taught a lot of other things that are very, very wrong. It’s not your fault,” here Remus paused to give James a stern look, “but you’ll have to work on unlearning the prejudiced crap that you’ve been taught. As a rule, if you’ve been told to hate someone for something that have no control over, like their heritage, then you should reconsider that belief.” Sirius nodded slowly, considering.

“I guess that makes sense.” _Hang on, why did Sirius have to be told that? And why is there a well-known slur against witches like Lily? What on Earth have I gotten myself into?_

“Wait, wait, wait,” Severus said, waving his hands. “Back up a minute. There are people who think that witches and wizards with muggle parents are bad? What the heck?” James raised his eyebrows and Remus cocked his head at Severus.

“Yeah. How come you don’t know that? I thought your mum was a witch,” Remus asked. Severus rubbed the inside of his wrist nervously. _Mum’s not really a witch anymore. At least, she isn’t when Father’s home._

“Er, Mum doesn’t talk all that much about magical society, since she left that all behind to marry Father.” James looked at him suspiciously and opened his mouth, but Sirius seemed to sense that he didn’t want to talk about it.

“Oi, mate,” said Sirius to Remus jovially, “You remember what class we’ve got next?” Remus nodded and pulled out his schedule.

“Looks like we’ve got History of Magic next, then Defense Against the Dark Arts, then Herbology, and finally Potions. I think today’s unusual though, since it’s the first day. Usually we’ll only have three classes a day, with each class being every other day, but I guess today’s different since it’s our first day,” he answered, then rolled his schedule back up and put it neatly back into his bag. James bounced excitedly in his seat and threw an arm around Sirius’ shoulders, argument forgotten.

“I can’t wait for Defense,” he chirped, “my Dad’s an Auror, and he says it’ll be brilliant! But I think that Transfiguration is going to be my best class. Which class do you guys think will be your favorites?”

“I don’t know,” Sirius answered, shrugging James’ arm off. “I think I’ll be good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, since I have a bit of experience in that.” He went a bit pale and turned to Remus. “What about you, Rem?” he said quickly.

“Well, my Da really likes History, and he’s taught me a lot so I’ll probably be good at that,” said Remus thoughtfully. “But maybe Defense, also? I don’t know. I think it’s a bit early to say. What about you, Severus?”

“I have no idea,” Severus shrugged. “I know my Mum likes Potions a lot and I’ve always liked reading her old textbooks, so maybe that.” Just then Professor McGonagall walked up to their table.

“Boys, it’s time to be on your way to your next class. Make sure you keep better track of time in the future. Punctuality is important,” she said sternly. The four first year Gryffindor boys stood and began to make their way to History of Magic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do y'all think Remus' favorite subject should be?


	5. Potions and Protection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Severus makes a new friend, discovers James' sheer talent for klutziness, and begins to make a name for himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dearest readers,  
> Hello! This update is the longest chapter yet! I hope y'all enjoy.   
> Peace, love, and pumpkin pie,  
> TSW

Within the first five minutes of History of Magic, Severus knew he was going to absolutely hate it. It was the only class taught by a ghost, which should have made it interesting, but Professor Binns seemed to have a special talent for being mind-numbingly boring. He started lecturing in his dry monotone the moment they sat down and didn’t stop until the second the class ended. Even Lily, the most studious person he knew, gave up paying attention after about ten minutes. They spent the class playing hangman.

After History of Magic, Lily and Severus started on the way to Defense Against the Dark Arts. After fifteen minutes, they found themselves in a random corridor full of abandoned classrooms and realized that they were quite lost. Lily checked her watch.

“Sev, we’re going to be so late,” she said frantically. Before he could answer, a cat walked towards them from the other side of the corridor, gave them a stern look and whisked off. Severus and Lily looked at each other. _Is that normal cat behavior?_ A few seconds later, the caretaker, Mr. Filch, walked towards them, followed by the cat. Lily grinned happily.

“Hi Mr. Filch! Your cat is absolutely brilliant, by the way. We’re lost, and I was starting to get very worried, but then she found us! And now here you are! You’re the caretaker, you must know Hogwarts better than anyone. Could you help us find the Defense classroom, please?” she said very quickly. Mr. Filch looked very surprised.

“Thank you, lass. Not many students have anything nice to say about Mrs. Norris. And sure, I’ll help you two find your way. You’re not too far off. What’re your names?” Mr. Filch responded in his raspy voice.

“I’m Lily Evans, and this Severus Snape.” Severus waved at the caretaker. Mr. Filch gave them both a small smile.

“Follow me,” he said and began to walk, Mrs. Norris trotting behind him.

“Does Mrs. Norris like to be petted?” asked Severus. Mr. Filch nodded.

“Yeah, she loves it. She’s a very smart cat, but she goes cuckoo for ear scratches.” Severus bent and scratched her ears as they walked, and Mrs. Norris purred happily. _I’m glad there’s a nice cat here. I won’t miss Asphodel so much. It’s a good thing she’s with Mum, though._

“May I pick her up so I can pet her more easily?” Severus asked. Mr. Filch nodded. Severus picked the cat up. She gave him a very surprised look but snuggled in when he began to pet her. Lily grinned at him.

“Sev has a cat at home, Asphodel, so I guess he misses her,” she told Mr. Filch. He huffed a wheezy laugh.

“I’ll tell you what, Mr. Severus Snape and Ms. Lily Evans,” he said, grinning, “As long as you stay out of trouble, you can come to my office in your free periods on Fridays and play with Mrs. Norris.”

“Really?” squealed Lily, who loved animals as much as Severus. Mr. Filch nodded, then stopped walking and gestured to a door on his right.

“Here’s the Defense room,” he said, opening it. He waved them through and stuck his head through the door. “No need to mark them late, Professor,” he called. “They got lost on their way here.” Lily and Severus came in and sat down in the front row, the only seats left. They waved to Mr. Filch as the door closed, Mrs. Norris having gracefully hopped out of Severus’ arms once they arrived. The Defense professor strode back to the front of the room. She was a tall, white-haired woman. At first glance, her face seemed normal. But after a second, Severus realized that though both of her eyes were a bright blue, the left one was fake. The fake eye whizzed around and around in her skull at break-neck speed. Her hair was tied into a neat plait and she wore no hat. Her robes were a pure midnight black, and Severus thought he saw the gleam of a knife peek out from one of her sturdy black boots. _She certainly seems like the sort to be extremely experienced in Defense._

“You two are Ms. Evans and Mr. Snape, yes?” she asked. Lily and Severus nodded. “Well, you two aren’t all that late. You only missed me taking roll. Let’s get on with class, shall we?” She drew her wand from a holster on her hip and waved it at the blackboard. The words ‘Professor Gertrude “One-Eye” Moody’ appeared on the board. “I am Professor Moody. I was an Auror for ten years, Head Auror for five years, and Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for fifteen years. I’m sure some of you have heard of my nephew and protégé, Alastor. I started out in the Auror Academy right out of Hogwarts. I came back to Hogwarts when I was forty-three years old because Professor Dumbledore needed a Defense teacher, and I was getting bored of the DMLE. I have been teaching this class for thirty-two years. I’ve seen everything, so don’t even bother trying anything with me. Defense Against the Dark Arts will teach you some of the most important magic you will learn in your time at Hogwarts. I’m sure you’ve heard of some of the Dark wizards our society has battled. Even when we are not at war against a specific enemy, being able to defend yourself is vital. This year, you will be learning about what the Dark Arts in general are, what the specific types of Dark Arts are, some of the most famous Dark wizards and witches, a bit about the theory behind Defensive magic, and when it is appropriate to use Defensive magic. Unfortunately, this year, you won’t be doing much actual magic. But we’ll get to that next year. Any questions?” Severus put up his hand. Professor Moody pointed at him.

“Professor, is your left eye fake?” She grinned at him.

“Observant one, you are, Mr. Snape. Yes, my left eye is fake. I lost it escaping from Grindelwald,” she said. The class gasped. Professor Moody grinned. “It’s a pretty nifty little thing. Very magical. I can see through most things. Yet another reason not to bother trying to break rules in my class. Is that all? Yes? Good. Let’s get started. The Dark arts are a formidable enemy, and to fight them you need to understand them…”

Professor Moody lectured for the rest of the hour-long class period, and Severus took copious notes. Usually, he’d get bored after about forty-five minutes of a teacher talking, but both the subject matter and the style of the teacher caught him and wouldn’t let go. All too soon, the class was over.

Lily, Severus, Remus, and Dorcas walked down to the Greenhouses together to Herbology, which was taught by a short, cheery little fellow called Professor Flower. The Potions lessons his mother gave him clearly carried over to Herbology, which was shown by his steady hands and knowledge of plants. He found he did not enjoy Herbology at all, but at least he was half-decent at it. He shared a table with James, Sirius, and Remus since Professor Flower had put the first year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs into tables with their dormmates. _We’ve had Transfiguration and Defense by ourselves, Charms with the Ravenclaws, and History of Magic and Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. I wonder why we only have Potions with the Slytherins. Maybe it’s just a first day thing._ Severus was pulled from his thoughts by a loud crash. James had dropped his flowerpot. Professor Flower sighed and vanished the pieces. By the end of the lesson, James had broken two more flowerpots and Professor Flower seemed to have given up trying to get him to be careful and simply put a Temporary Sticking Charm on the pot so it stuck to the table. Severus earned Gryffindor five points for his perfectly potted Moly plant. Flower dismissed them a few minutes early, and Severus walked back to the castle with Lily and Remus, speculating excitedly about Potions.

Severus tried very hard not to bounce in his seat in the table at the very front of the Potions classroom. Surprisingly, caldrons full of finished potions were placed around the room. Near the table he, Lily, Remus, and Dorcas were sitting were Veritaserum and Polyjuice. Looking around, he spotted the distinctive hue of The Draught of Living Death and the pearlescent sheen of Amortenia. Before he could examine the other potions, Professor Slughorn clapped his hands. He was a portly man, with a large mustache and a shiny shock of blond hair.

“Hello class,” he said jovially, “And welcome to Potions! I’m Professor Slughorn, and I will be your teacher. Let’s get started, shall we?” He walked over to the caldron filled with The Draught of Living Death and pointed to it. “Can anybody tell me what potion this is?” Severus’ hand hit the air almost before the Professor finished speaking. Nobody else raised their hand. Professor Slughorn pointed to him.

“That is The Draught of Living Death, an extremely powerful sleeping potion that sends the drinker into a slumber so powerful it is akin to death, hence its name,” Severus answered proudly. Professor Slughorn looked surprised and impressed.

“Very good, Mr…?”

“Snape. Severus Snape.”

“Five points to Gryffindor, Mr. Snape,” Professor Slughorn said, then pointed to the Amortenia. “Does anyone know this one?” Again, Severus’ hand was the first and only one to hit the air. Professor Slughorn pointed to him.

“That would be Amortenia, sir. The most powerful love potion in the world. Of course, it cannot create love, only an extremely powerful infatuation, but it comes the closest of all love potions. It is identifiable by its pearlescent sheen, spirals of white smoke, and, of course, its scent, which takes the smell of the things that the sniffer loves the most.” Professor Slughorn nodded bemusedly.

“Take another five points. I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Professor Slughorn praised. He pointed to a caldron full of a potion Severus couldn’t see but would know the horrid scent of anywhere. “Anyone know this one? Yes, Mr. Snape?”

“That would be Skele-Gro, which is a medical potion used to re-grow bones.”

“Excellent! Five more points to Gryffindor! What about this one?” asked Professor Slughorn, gesturing to the Veritaserum near Severus’ table.

“Judging by its colorless appearance and lack of odor, that would be Veritaserum, the strongest truth potion in existence.”

“Take five more! What about this potion?”

“That would be Polyjuice Potion, a potion that will allow the drinker to assume the form of another person for an hour, provided that they add a bit of the person to the potion before drinking it.”

“Marvelous! You, Mr. Snape, clearly know your potions. You must come from some talented potioneers! Are you perhaps related to the famous inventor of Pepper-Up, Griselda Snape?” Severus shook his head.

“No, I don’t think so. But I think you know my Mum? Eileen Prince?” Professor Slughorn smiled widely and clapped his hands.

“Ah, yes, the brilliant Eileen Prince! Now there’s a Potions talent if I ever saw one! But I daresay you might prove even better. But Potions is not just about knowing which potion is which! Let’s get brewing! If you’ll turn to page 23 in your textbook, you’ll find the first few steps of the Cure for Boils, which will need to sit for a day. That will be perfect for us, since we’d usually have enough time to finish a potion in class, but today is different. Get out your caldrons, and let’s get started!”

About 45 minutes later, Professor Slughorn clapped his hands. “And we appear to be out of time! Please clean up your stations! Leave your potions in your caldrons, I’ll come by and take a look at what you’ve done so far!” Severus, having finished the first stage of brewing five minutes before, was finished with his cleanup. He looked around at everybody else’s potions. Lily’s was only a couple shades lighter than the color of blue described in the book, Dorcas was a few steps behind, and Remus’ potion had turned a murky brown and curdled to the bottom of his caldron. Soon, his tablemates were back. Professor Slughorn walked over to their table holding a clipboard and a quill. He nodded approvingly at Dorcas’, clucked his tongue at Remus’, awarded five points to Gryffindor for Lily’s potion, and stopped dead when he saw Severus’.

“Mr. Snape, your potion is absolutely stunning. Take thirty points to Gryffindor for the best Cure for Boils I have ever seen in my twenty years of teaching. I think we can expect great things from you, Mr. Snape. Great things, indeed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do y'all think they should brew next?


	6. Cats and Compliments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Severus earns his keep in Gryffindor, has a new favorite staff member, and receives good news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovely readers!  
> This chapter is probably my favorite one yet! I headcanon that Hagrid was still a trainee groundskeeper when the Marauders were at Hogwarts, so I gave Sev a different staff member friend. Comments and kudos are awesome. A minute or two out of your day literally makes my entire week!  
> Peace, love, and chocolate cake,  
> TSW  
> P.S. Happy Halloween!

Over the next week, Severus settled into a routine. He ate breakfast with Lily and the girls, went to either Transfiguration or Charms, ate lunch with his dormmates, then sat with Lily in History of Magic or Defense, and finished with Herbology or Potions. He spent his free time from the end of his last class up to dinner with James, Sirius, and Remus and dinner to bedtime with Lily. As far as his classes went, he quickly found that he was pants at History of Magic and barely mediocre at Transfiguration, but was decent at Herbology, good at Charms, great at Defense, and excelled at Potions. Though he loved Defense, Severus soon realized that he had a real talent for Potions. He earned Gryffindor at least thirty points each class, which he only realized was an abnormality when Arthur approached him during breakfast on Friday. Severus was eating pancakes and laughing as he watched Lily use the Levitation charm they had learned the day before to make the syrup pour from the bottle onto James’ head in retaliation for the frog that had made its way into her bag that morning when Arthur tapped him on the shoulder. Severus turned around to see him grinning hugely.   
“Hey Severus,” he greeted, “A little birdy told me that my favorite of my first years has been earning us scads of points.”   
“Hey!” James shouted indignantly from the other end of the table. Arthur rolled his eyes. “I thought I was your favorite,” James continued, unperturbed.   
“James, when you earn Gryffindor forty-five points in one class, then maybe.” Severus stared up at him, confused.  
“What’s the big deal? I thought Slughorn just tended to award a lot of points at a time.” Arthur shook his head.   
“No way, kid. No one earns that much in one class, especially a Gryffindor from the Head of Slytherin! You must be some kind of Potions genius, mate.” Lily grinned proudly at Severus.  
“He really is,” she told Arthur. “Every time we brew a potion, Professor Slughorn says that Severus’ is the best he’s ever seen.” Arthur raised his eyebrows.   
“Really? That’s pretty impressive, kid. Anyway, I have to go. Keep up the good work, and try not to let James accidentally kill himself,” he answered, then left. Lily turned to him.  
“Sev, are you going to come with me during our free period to see Mr. Filch?” He nodded.  
“Duh. I’ve been looking forward to it all week. He said to come to his office, but where is it?” Severus wondered.  
“That’s a good point,” Lily answered. “Oh, look. He’s sitting at the staff table. We can ask him while we’re leaving.” Satisfied, they continued eating.   
A few minutes later, it was almost time to leave for Charms. Severus caught sight of Mr. Filch propping open the doors of the Great Hall and poked Lily. They got up and hurried over. Mr. Filch saw them and waved, beginning to walk away.  
“Mr. Filch,” Severus called, waving back. The caretaker stopped and turned around. Severus and Lily caught up, panting. “Mr. Filch, you said to come see you in your office during our free period, but we don’t know where your office is,” Severus told them. Mr. Flich smiled down at them.   
“You’re quite right, kiddo. My office is the last door on the left in the corridor where your Defense class is.”  
“Okay, thank you!” Lily said cheerfully. Then they hurried off to Charms, waving goodbye.  
Since classes were shortened on Fridays, Charms and Defense flew by. Then, Severus ate lunch as quickly as possible and hurried off to his favorite class.   
The potion they were brewing that day was an Herbicide, which Severus had already made with his Mum. As he rose to get his ingredients, Professor Slughorn beckoned him to his desk.   
“Mr. Snape,” he said quietly, “In the last week, it has become obvious that you are a magnificent potioneer. I don’t think that First Year Potions is going to teach you anything at all. With your permission, I’d like to speak to Professor McGonagall about trying having you move to Second Year Potions for next week, to see how you do there. I have a feeling that you’ll probably wind up moving to Third Year Potions, but it’s protocol to move advanced students ahead one year at a time.” Severus nodded, then hesitated, rubbing his wrist.   
“Would you need to speak to my parents?”  
“No, not for just one class. Although, I’m sure they’d be delighted to hear how advanced their son is!” Severus forced a smile. He doubted it. His Father hated it when anyone was smarter than him, especially when it was his son. Although it’s not exactly difficult.  
“Then that would be wonderful, Professor. I’ll start next week if Professor McGonagall says yes, right?” Professor Slughorn nodded, beaming.  
“Yes indeed, my boy! And I’m sure Minerva will say yes. Now, run along and brew your potion.”   
When Severus got back to his table with his ingredients, Dorcas leaned across the table.   
“What did Slughorn want?” she asked. Severus looked down, embarrassed.  
“Er, he wanted to talk about moving me to Second Year Potions.” Lily nudged him in the shoulder, grinning. “That’s great, Sev!” He smiled back, then began to make his potion.   
When class ended, Severus and Lily waved goodbye to their friends and made their way to the Defense corridor. He filled her in on the rest of his conversation with Slughorn. It was a bit of a walk, but they managed to find Mr. Filch’s office. Lily knocked on the door, and it swung open to reveal a cozy office filled with books and papers. A large, well-worn desk took up most of the back half of the room and two wooden chairs sat in front of it. Mrs. Norris was curled up on a gray cat bed in the front right of the room, a scratching post next to her. Mr. Filch waved them in.   
“Hullo Lily, Severus.”   
“Hi Mr. Filch!” Lily and Severus chirped in unison, then looked at each other and giggled. Mr. Filch smiled.   
“Call me Argus,” he said, “Mr. Filch is for students in trouble. Mrs. Norris is in her bed so you can sit on the floor and pet her or sit in the chairs and she’ll get in your lap.” Lily bounced over to the chairs. Severus picked up Mrs. Norris and followed. Argus sat in the chair behind the desk.   
“How did you get Mrs. Norris?” Severus asked curiously, stroking the cat’s soft fur.  
“She just showed up one day,” Argus explained. “I was leaving Hogsmeade, and as I was walking up the path, I saw a tiny, shivering little kitten hiding in a bush just off the path. I couldn’t just leave her there, so I brought her back to the castle and gave her some milk and let her sleep by the fire. And she just stuck around.” Lily smiled, scratching Mrs. Norris’ ears.  
“That’s adorable. How’d you get the name Mrs. Norris?” she queried.  
“Well, Norris was my mother’s maiden name, and her attitude reminded me of my dear old Ma,” Argus told them, laughing. “I’m glad you two came to see her. She seemed to like you.”   
“Well, we like her too!” Lily declared.  
“And we didn’t just come to see her, we came to see you, too!” Severus put in. Argus grinned widely.  
“Well, that’s mighty kind of ya. I don’t get many visitors. You two are in Gryffindor, eh?”  
“Yep,” said Lily. “What House were you in when you were a student?” Argus looked a bit stricken.  
“Er, I didn’t go to Hogwarts.”  
“Ooh!” Lily exclaimed, “Did you go to Durmstrang or Beauxbatons? The differences in Magical culture are so interesting! How did-” Argus cut her off.  
“I didn’t go to any magic school. I’m a Squib,” he said shortly. Lily cocked her head.  
“What’s a Squib?” she asked.  
“I was born into a Magic family, but I’m not a wizard.”   
“Oh,” said Lily, looking contrite. “Oops.” Argus burst into laughter. Severus, after looking at Lily’s face, had to follow. Soon, all three of them were laughing uproariously. Mrs. Norris looked askance at them, hopped off Severus’ lap, and walked gracefully back to her bed, indignation clear in every step. Once they calmed down, Severus realized something.   
“Wait, Argus, you said your family is magic, but you’re not?”  
“Aye,” answered Argus a bit sadly. Severus grinned, getting an idea.  
“Lily’s older sister, Petunia, isn’t magic, and she really wanted to go to Hogwarts. She’s really upset. Do you think you could write to her, and maybe you can help her?” Lily smiled proudly at him.   
“That’s a good idea. Maybe if Tuney talks to someone who can understand what she’s feeling than she’ll be mates with us again!” Argus nodded.   
“I could do that. Having someone who understood to talk to when I was young would certainly have helped me. You’ll just have to give your address, and I’ll send an owl.” Lily nodded, took out a piece of parchment and a quill, and jotted down her address, grinning hugely. A load seemed to be taken off her shoulders. Severus was glad, too. He and Petunia had never really gotten along, but he knew how upset Lily was about her fading relationship with her sister. Lily handed the parchment to Argus and he put it in his pocket.   
“So, Severus, Lily how were your first weeks at Hogwarts? How are your classes going?” he asked.  
“It was pretty good. I learned a lot. And I’m doing well in almost all of my classes, especially Potions.” Lily elbowed him.   
“Sev, quit selling yourself short! Tell him about what Slughorn said today. And about all the points you earn,” she ordered. Severus rolled his eyes.  
“Well, according to our Prefect, I’m earning Gryffindor a lot of points, which is because I’m good at Potions.” Lily elbowed him again. “Fine. I’m really good at Potions.” Lily rolled her eyes.  
“Actually, he’s a Potions genius. He’s so amazing at Potions that today, Professor Slughorn told him that he wanted Severus to move to Second Year Potions for next week, but he thinks that Sev’ll end up in Third Year Potions after that.” Argus’ eyes widened.  
“You really must be some kind o’ genius! I’ve barely heard of anyone skipping one year, much less two!” Severus blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.  
“Er, thanks. My Mum really likes Potions, and she taught me a bit, that’s all.” Lily smacked his arm.  
“That’s a load of tosh!” she scolded. “Don’t listen to him, he’s overly modest. He’s not some kind of genius, he IS a genius,” she added, looking at Argus, who snorted.   
“You’re quite the firecracker, aintcha? Remind me of my dear old Ma.”   
“Thank you,” said Lily regally, sticking her nose in the air. Severus did. Not. Laugh.   
Time passed quickly as they talked and laughed with Argus, who regaled them with stories of his many years at Hogwarts. He was in the middle of telling them how he found a secret passageway by getting stuck in it for three hours when Severus glanced at the clock on the wall and shot up out of his seat in surprise.   
“Lily, if we don’t get going now, we’ll be late to dinner!” Lily checked the clock.  
“Goodness, you’re right!” They grabbed their things.   
“You two can come back next week, same time, same plalce.” Argus told them as he waved them out the door.  
“We will!” called Lily as they left, waving.   
“Bye, Argus,” they yelled over their shoulders at the same time. Argus snorted at them and waved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do y'all think about Argus and Mrs. Norris in this story? I've always felt like they were misunderstood. Especially the cat. Also, yay for ten thousand words!


	7. Trepidation and Tutors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Severus gets a tutor and learns something from Professor McGonagall.  
> THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A SEMI-DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PANIC ATTACK. REPEAT, TW: PANIC ATTACK.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear lovely readers,  
> Hi! This chapter was giving me a lot of trouble, so it's pretty short. This does contain a panic attack, so be careful. If you wish not to see it, skip from the first line of dots (.............) to the second. Your health is the most important thing! I've had panic attacks before, so that's what I based this off of. They really suck, so again, please stay safe. Happy reading! Comments and Kudos give me a whole lot of happiness. If you like this, a few seconds out of your day makes all of mine!  
> Peace, love, and chocolate molten lava cake,  
> TSW

Over the next weeks, Severus settled further into life at Hogwarts. McGonagall had agreed to advancing him in Potions and, as Slughorn predicted, Severus found himself in Third Year Potions by the start of his third week at Hogwarts. He and Lily continued to visit Argus and Mrs. Norris every Friday, which was lovely. Even though he couldn’t help with classes, Argus always had a brilliant piece of advice. Severus became closer to his dormmates, but he still spent most of his time with Lily. He continued to do well in Defense, Herbology, and Charms, but he was abysmal at History of Magic and had a great deal of trouble with Transfiguration. He had a feeling that History of Magic was a lost cause, but after handing back his third failed Transfiguration essay, Professor McGonagall told him to stay after class. As everyone else filed out, she pulled up a chair in front of his desk.

“Mr. Snape, you are close to failing my class,” she said bluntly. “You are clearly a magnificent student, given your talent for Potions and the fact that Professor Nagai told me that you are the most innovative Charms student she has ever seen and has requested to give you and Ms. Evans private lessons. I can see that you are trying your best, so I think you may need some extra help in Transfiguration.” Severus looked up at her worriedly, filing the praise from Professor Nagai away to be happy about later. He didn’t want to disappoint his Head of House, but it sounded like she thought he was some dunderhead who needed her to use her precious time to give him handouts. _And Father always says that only weaklings need charity. I’ve already disappointed him enough, and there’s nothing Father hates more than weaklings. What if Professor McGonagall writes him? Or tells Professor Dumbledore to expel me? And what if Father comes here? Or makes me leave? He’ll be so angry…_

…………………………………..

Severus felt himself rocking up and down, breathe coming out too quickly, in short pants. He felt his brain fill with shrieking wind but for one thing: “Get down and be quiet,” a command hissed in his Mum’s voice whenever Father got angry. He knew that command was never to be disobeyed so he dropped to the floor silently, tucked his head down, and squeezed his eyes shut. He felt something much bigger than him step close to him and he froze, then made himself as small as possible, knowing it wouldn’t save him. He braced for the blow, but it didn’t come. Instead of a calloused fist, smooth, cool fingers touched his cheek gently. They didn’t move.

“Severus,” a quiet Scottish voice said, breaking through the wild whistling of the wind. That wasn’t right. His Father was from London. The wind abated a bit. “Severus, tell me four things you can feel.” The voice definitely did not belong to his Father but wasn’t his Mum either. Something deep inside Severus told him the speaker was safe so he responded in a shaky voice.

“Um, stone floor, a breeze, hair, my pants, and… fingers?”

“Good,” said the voice. The wind quieted further. “Three things you can smell.”

“Books, chalk, and ink.” There weren’t any books on Spinner’s End. At least, there weren’t any where Father could find them. The wind went silent.

“Two things you can hear.”

“People walking and your voice,” Severus said, opening his eyes, incredibly disoriented. A hand tilted his chin up gently and his eyes found Professor McGonagall’s face.

“One thing you see.” Severus looked around.

“The chalkboard,” he answered, standing up. _Idiot! So much for not being a weakling!_

………………………………………

Severus bent to pick his messenger bag back up. “I’m so sorry for bothering you, Professor. I’ll do better in Transfiguration. I won’t disgrace your House, I promise.” He said quickly, praying that she wouldn’t kick him out of Gryffindor for being such a coward. Professor McGonagall gently grabbed his elbow.

“Child, you have done nothing wrong,” she said with uncharacteristic gentleness. “I am your Head of House. I am here for you to bother me, not that helping worried children is bothersome. And I assure you, having trouble in Transfiguration does not mean you are disgracing my House. It merely means you need a bit of help.” Severus stared up at her.

“So you won’t expel me? Or write to my Father?” Professor McGonagall shook her head.

“Of course not! How could I expel the greatest Potions student Hogwarts has seen since Merlin? Then who how could I rub Horace’s face in the fact that his best ever student is a Gryffindor?” Severus giggled. “Now that’s settled, let’s discuss how we can help you with Transfiguration. Normally, I’d just offer you one on one lessons with me, but I think you’d also benefit a great deal from a peer tutor, based on what I’ve seen of you. I’d like for you to have one extra lesson with me every other week and time with a tutor on weeks you don’t see me.” Severus nodded. “As for who your tutor would be, there are a few options. For first years, I like to have older students for tutors. I think you and Narcissa Black would work quite well together. She’s a third year Slytherin. I’ll let her know to meet you in the library on your free period on Fridays and-”

“Not then! That’s when Lily and I go see Argus and Mrs. Norris!” Severus interrupted indignantly. Professor McGonagall looked very surprised for a moment, then composed herself.

“Very well. How about at noon in the library on Saturdays?” Severus nodded.

“That works.”

“Good. You will have your first lesson with her this Saturday. Run along to lunch now. And if you ever want to talk about what’s worrying you, or just need to be alone for a bit, you know where my office is.” Severus nodded and smiled at her.

“Thank you, Professor!” he said and scurried off to lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's take a vote:  
> Do y'all think Narcissa should be a nasty bigot or should I give her some redemption, to?


	8. A Note and a Narcissa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Severus receives a letter and experiences tutoring for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear lovely readers,  
> Hello! Thank you for your lovely, lovely votes. If you wish to know the outcome of the poll, well, read away! Anyway, this chapter is mainly fluff with a bit of insight into one of Severus' most important relationships. Things are going to pick up a bit more in the next chapter, I promise! If you enjoy this story/chapter, please, please let me know in the comments or leave kudos!  
> Peace, love, and blueberry muffins,  
> TSW

In the Great Hall on Saturday morning, Severus was savoring the delicious French toast that Emmeline had heartily recommended and listening to Lily, Emmeline, and Marlene chatter as he slowly woke up. Soon, the owls swooped in. Severus was surprised to see a beautiful tawny owl heading towards him. He didn’t really have anyone not at Hogwarts besides his Mum, and she wasn’t supposed to use owls. He rubbed the inside of his wrist. The owl landed beside him and stuck out its leg, which had a letter bound to it. He gently untied the letter and the owl stayed next to him. He opened the letter, which was written in his Mum’s flowing handwriting. A smaller note also fluttered out. He picked up the letter from his Mum first.

My Dearest Severus,

Hello my darling! This owl found me when I was in the Half-Blood Princes’ Place, writing letters to you that I thought I wouldn’t be able to send. It was holding a letter that I have enclosed. I think it was a gift from someone. You can tell the owl to take letters to the Half-Blood Princes’ Place, since I showed it to her and taught her what it was. She’ll leave them on my sitting rock. Your Father will never know, so don’t worry. 

How has school gone? Your Father wasn’t very happy when he found out we tricked him, but I managed to convince him that if you didn’t go, people would come looking. Thanks for the batch of Bruiser Paste, by the way. Even though, **as I have told you** , you oughtn’t be worrying about me. It worked exactly right. Took away the pain but left the bruises. Speaking of Potions, is Professor Slughorn still the Potions Master? 

What House were you sorted into? I know you wanted to be a Slytherin like me, but I’m still say you’re a Gryffindor at heart. And remember, I love you No. Matter. What. Forever and ever and ever. Where did your friend get Sorted? I wish I could meet her, but, well, you know how your Father feels about talking to strangers. Speaking of strangers, who and how are your dormmates? I know you might want to just stick with your one friend, but it's very important to branch out. My dormmates at Hogwarts were some of the best friends I had! Goodness, I haven’t been back to Hogwarts in ages and ages. Is Binns **still** the History of Magic Professor? I think I slept through nine of ten of his classes. But my grades showed it! 

On the subject of grades, you had better not bring home anything lower than a 65 on your final grades, or we’ll spend all the time your Father isn’t home this summer working on schoolwork! As I told you about primary school: I don’t care if you don’t get excellent grades in every class, but I expect you to be a hard enough worker to at least pass every class. I have so much faith in you, and I am so, so very proud. Remember, I love you more than there are grains of sand on the beach, stars in the sky, and drops of water in the oceans.

All my love,

Mum

P.S. Asphodel misses you, and so do I.

The enclosed letter was written on a scrap of parchment and read:

Eileen (& Severus)-

You are never all the way alone. There is always help at Hogwarts for those who need it.

A Friend

He could swear the handwriting was familiar, but he couldn’t recall exactly who it belonged to. Mentally shrugging his shoulders, Severus told the owl to go to the Owlery, finished his food, then headed back to his dorm to write a letter back.

(He didn’t look at the Staff Table on his way back, but if he had, he would have seen Professor McGonagall and Argus covertly bump their fists together.)

Once he reached his dorm, Severus tucked his Mum’s letter under his pillow, grabbed his quill, some parchment, and some ink, and settled in to write his letter.

Dear Mum,

Greetings and Salutations! I miss you and Asphodel too. School has been unimaginably wonderful. Professor Slughorn is indeed still teaching Potions and guess what! After the first week, he said that I shouldn’t be in first year Potions, so he pushed me up to second year Potions, and now I’m in THIRD! YEAR! POTIONS!!!

Unsurprisingly, you were right. I was Sorted Gryffindor. I’m sure your incredibly pleased with yourself. Congratulations. But I was also kind of right too since the Hat nearly put me in Slytherin. Lily was also sorted Gryffindor!!!!!

My dormmates are James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. James is completely barmy and gets up entirely too early, but he’s great fun to be around. Sirius is nice, although apparently his Mum is some nut who thinks Lily somehow stole her magic from someone, but he’s working on it. He goofs off a lot, but somehow he still gets perfect grades. It's very annoying. Remus is probably my best friend in the dorm. He’s really sweet and he absolutely adores books. He’s brilliant at everything except Potions. For the week I was in Potions with him and everyone, he managed to blow up every. Single. Potion. He worked on. Apparently, his streak remains unbroken. So, HA! I have so made friends other than Lily! I even made friends who aren’t even in my dorm. Granted, they’re Lily’s dormmates, so they’re the girl version of my dorm, but still! They’re names are Emmeline Vance, Marlene McKinnon, and Dorcas Meadows. Emmeline is really funny and drops things all the time, Marlene seems to be friends with everybody, and Dorcas is practically the nicest person I’ve ever met. Plus, I even made friends with the caretaker and his cat! The caretaker’s name is Mr. Filch, but Lily and I are allowed to call him Argus and his cat’s name is Mrs. Norris. Mrs. Norris is named after Argus’ Mum. She’s not Asphodel, but its very nice to have a cat to hold.

Binns is still the History of Magic Professor. Lily and I mostly play hangman in his class. My grades are mostly very good, but I am not doing so well in Transfiguration. But I am having a tutor later today, so I’m doing my very best, which, as you always say, is all you can ask for. I love you more than there are ticks and tocks in a clock! (I’m quite proud of that one.)

Love, love, love,

Severus

* * *

Severus walked nervously toward the library, holding the strap of his messenger bag tightly. None of his friends but Lily knew he was here. Professor McGonagall had said there was nothing to be ashamed of, but Severus was very embarrassed. He wouldn’t even have told Lily if he was capable of lying to her. _Narcissa Black. Same last name as Sirius. They must be related. Sirius’ family thinks that Lily is an evil thief. What if she thinks I’m evil because I’m a halfblood?_ Before Severus knew it, he was through the library’s mahogany doors. A beautiful, black-haired girl sat ramrod-straight in a chair at a far table, looking towards the doors. She spotted him and gracefully made her way over.

“Are you Severus Snape?” she asked gently. Severus nodded. “Excellent. I’m Narcissa Black. I already got us a table so let’s go over there,” she said, leading him towards the table he had seen her sitting at. They sat down across from each other. “I have to say, I’m surprised McGonagall gave me a Gryffindor. She usually keeps Slytherins to other snakes or to Ravenclaws.”

“I was actually nearly a Slytherin,” said Severus sharply. Narcissa raised her eyebrows.

“Really? That’s rare. Snakes and lions are usually pretty different. Although you were a Hatstall, weren’t you?”

“Oh yes. What’s a Hatstall?” Narcissa gave a laugh that sounded like tinkling bells.

“Oh, I like you. A Hatstall is someone that takes the Sorting Hat at least five minutes to sort. People who can be a Slytherin or Gryffindor are often Hatstalls. I think McGonagall was one, actually. Don’t worry, it’s not a bad thing. But let’s get to work. If you have Slytherin in you, then my studying methods might work better than the things McGonagall has recommended. The Houses all tend to learn very differently…”

By the time his tutoring session was over, Severus had quite gotten over his worries about Narcissa. He quickly decided that he quite liked her and as far as he could tell, the feeling was mutual. It turned out that she was in his third year Potions class so they made plans to study for Slughorn’s next test together. Severus left the library grinning, excited to tell Lily about his new friend.

Severus found Lily in the little study room they had discovered their first week at Hogwarts and had spent every weekend afternoon together in since. Lily had stumbled upon it when they were playing hide and seek and she went to hide behind a tapestry of Leopold the Lazy and fell through the wall into the cozy little room. It held a cheery fireplace with a fire that never seemed to die out, a pair of squishy, comfortable armchairs, and an entire wall of huge windows that magically looked out onto an idyllic beach. It was a perfect haven from the stress of school life and the perfect place to return to the peaceful times before they came to Hogwarts, the times when it was just Lils-and-Sev.

_I really like my new friends and its great to be away from Father, but sometimes I miss it just being the two of us._ Severus plopped down next to Lily in the armchair closest to the fire. The chairs were big enough that they could both sit comfortably in one. Lily looked up from her book and smiled.

“Hey Sev! How was tutoring?”

“It was a lot better than I thought it would be.”

“Isn’t everything always better than you think it will be?”

“Fair enough. But Narcissa was really nice! She’s really smart and really knows her Transfiguration. And she actually understands my sarcasm!”

“Hey! I understand your sarcasm!”

“Yeah, but she actually enjoys it.”

“…You know what? That’s fair.” Lily fixed him with a stern look. “Also, were you ever going to bother to tell me that Professor McGonagall told you that Professor Nagai wanted to give us extra lessons?” Severus slumped down in his seat.

“I’m so sorry, I totally forgot Professor McGonagall said that. I had another one of those _episodes_ right after.” Lily’s glare immediately disappeared and she threw her arms around him.

“Oh, Sev! We’ve got to figure those things out. Did it happen in front of McGonagall?” Severus nodded. “Did she send you to the Hospital Wing?” He shook his head. _I **hate** talking about these…meltdowns. I should be stronger than this, damnit!_

“Did she send you to the Hospital Wing?”

“No.”

“Well, then we know its not something Madame Pomfrey can treat, so then maybe-”

“Lily. I don’t want to talk about this. If Professor McGonagall didn’t get worried, I don’t see why you should!” Severus snapped angrily. Lily closed her mouth with a clack of teeth and gave him a wounded look. Severus sighed and slumped further.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I just really hate this.” Lily smiled gently at him and rested her head on his shoulder, taking his hand. He snuggled closer to his best friend and watched the fire crackle, secure and content in the knowledge that no one, not even Father, could take this away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do y'all think I should keep the letters around?   
> (Also, do any of y'all hate Bellatrix more than Voldemort, or is it just me?)


	9. Costumes and Companions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Severus dresses up, cements a bond, and runs into danger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dear readers,  
> Hello! We've got Halloween chapter today, only a month late! If certain phrases and themes in this chapter seem a bit familiar to you, that's because they were unashamedly stolen from Harry Potter and the Philosopher/Sorcerer's Stone. Enjoy!  
> Peace, love, and ice cream sundaes,  
> TSW  
> P.S. Happy Thanksgiving!

Severus bounced impatiently on his toes as he, Remus, James, and Lily waited for Sirius to finish putting on his costume. Emmeline, Dorcas, and Marlene had gone down to the feast a while before, while they had still been getting ready. It was Halloween night, and Lily had organized a costume contest after the feast for all the Gryffindor first years. Apparently, Molly and Arthur had agreed to be judges and matching costumes would also get to compete in the House-wide group costume contest. Somehow, Severus had gotten roped into doing matching costumes with Lily. He was wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt and pants that Narcissa had kindly Transfigured into a shiny, skintight outfit that made him look like he was made of silver. Or, in this case, tin. Lily’s parents had sent them a cardboard box and face paint along with Lily’s Dorothy costume. They spent an enjoyable evening covering the box with silver paint and cutting out leg and arm holes. _The result is certainly worth all that hard work, though._ His entire body was covered with either silver fabric or silver face paint and the box fit him quite nicely. He even had a silver hat! Next to him, Lily was a perfect Dorothy with her gingham dress, neat red braids, and sparkling red shoes. He hadn’t yet seen their costumes, but Lily told him that Emmeline was dressed as Emma Peel and Dorcas made a surprisingly good Professor McGonagall. _Which is either very brave or very stupid. Perhaps both._ James wore a long purple dress that Marlene had lent, which he had pasted gold stars onto. He declared himself to be Merlin, which Severus personally thought was a bit presumptuous. Remus had been bribed with chocolate by Dorcas to dress as Professor Dumbledore. He looked absolutely ridiculous.

Finally, Sirius came down. He was wearing a fancy knight costume that his parents had bought him the previous year but replaced the helmet with a jeweled cardboard crown, making him the King Arthur to James’ Merlin.  
“Come on, come on,” barked James impatiently, “Let’s get to the feast already! I’m hungry!” Severus rolled his eyes.

“You’re always hungry. It isn’t anything new.” James gave an indignant yelp and the group made their way out of the Common Room, bickering good-naturedly.

They had barely made it out of Gryffindor Tower when it stepped out. The ogre was easily three times the size of Severus, smelled of spoiled fish, and was a horrible murky green color. It wore only a ragged, dirty loincloth and dragged a crude spear. _Its really just a big toothpick. Idiot og…Dear G-d in heaven that’s an ogre. Shit._ Before Severus could sit and deliberate any further, the ogre turned around. For a second, it stared at them and they stared back. Then, the ogre raised its spear and went right for Lily, who dodged out of the way at the last second. Severus nearly lost his mind. _Nobody, but nobody, hurts Lily._ Completely forgetting his fear, Severus raised his wand. _Well, now’s as good a time as any to try out one of the spells Lily and I learned in the library…_

Before he could get a word out, James and Sirius had raised their wands.

“Locomotor wibbly!” they shouted at the same time. Remus’ book sailed out of his hand to hit the ogre right between the eyes. Lily, seizing her opportunity, kicked the ogre between the legs. It screeched and grabbed her around the waist, lifting her high in the air. Severus’ vision blurred red and he felt something stir deep, deep within him. He heard himself howl, a piercing, grating sound that he had never made before and didn’t think he could ever make again. There was a flash of light, then complete darkness. Severus’ vision cleared suddenly and he was on the floor, inexplicably exhausted. He looked up to see Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus staring at him.

“What?” he snapped irritably.

“Mate,” said James gently, “You might want to take a look at what you did to that ogre.” Severus dragged his eyes to where James was pointing. The ogre was a mass of purple blood and green flesh. He felt sick. At that moment, Professor McGonagall came sprinting up the nearby stairs.

“What in Merlin’s name is going on? I heard screaming!” she panted. Then she caught sight of the mangled ogre, Severus on the floor, and his friends grouped around him. She gently pushed through to Severus and put a tender arm around him. He leaned into the warmth that felt like his Mum and began to sob. _I’m a monster! Father is right, I’m a horrid, awful little beast._

“Miss Evans, would you care to explain what happened here?” Professor McGonagall asked sternly, stroking Severus’ hair as he wept.

“Well, we were on our way to the Great Hall for the feast when we saw the ogre. It turned around and nearly ran me through with its spear, but I dodged. Then James and Sirius hexed it and Remus threw his book at it. Then I kicked it, and it grabbed me and lifted me up. Then Sev screamed, and then…the ogre fell and I floated to the ground, then Sev passed out for a moment. Then he woke up, and then you came.” Lily said, her voice wobbling. Professor McGonagall nodded.

“The five of you did very well. Ten points to Gryffindor each,” she said briskly, then lifted Severus’ chin up. “Mr. Snape, I’m sure when you were small you did accidental magic. Sometimes, especially when they’re still learning, older witches and wizards do accidental magic when they are extremely angry or frightened. That ogre was trying to hurt you, and you brought it down. You did not do it the way you did on purpose, nor does it say anything at all about you. Your emotions were so strong that your inner magic, that what we tap on to do spells, rose up and flowed out of you uncontrollably. You have done nothing wrong. In fact, your magical power is very impressive,” she said fiercely. Severus could only nod. “Now, this much magic takes a lot out of you, so I am going to take you to the Hospital Wing to see Madame Pomfrey. She is going to look you over and make sure you don’t need any medicine to help you get your energy back.” Lily opened her mouth. “Yes, Miss Evans, you may accompany us.”

“Hey!” said James indignantly, “We’re his friends too!” Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes, though Severus thought he saw the corner of her mouth tick up, just a bit. “Very well, you may all come, provided that you don’t disturb any of the patients and speak _quietly,_ for Merlin’s sake.” James nodded and he and Sirius mimed zipping their lips.

Soon, Severus was settled on a bed in the Hospital Wing because Madame Pomfrey, who was kind and lovely, had wanted to observe him for the night, playing Gobstones with his friends as they ate their way through the plates of food the Madame Pomfrey had kindly had the Kitchens send up. Professor McGonagall had gone to notify the Headmaster, and then sent Madame Pomfrey a note explaining that the ogre had wandered into the castle from the Forbidden Forest because somebody had left the doors open. _Some bloody idiot, more like._

But something good came of it all. From then on, Lily, Severus, Remus, Sirius, and James were best friends. There are some things you can’t share without winding up liking each other, and defeating a gigantic ogre is one of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do y'all think of my McGonagall? Is she strict enough? If you enjoyed this story, please leave a comment or kudos and let me know! They light up my day!


	10. Not an Update

My dear readers,  
Hello! I'm so sorry, but this is not an update. I just wanted to let you guys know that I WILL be working on this story as soon as possible, but it will be on hiatus for a while. I have a lot going on in my life right now and I'm working through a pretty rough depressive episode, and I really don't have enough of myself to be able to write at the moment. I'll delete this chapter as soon as I post a new one, FYI. Thank all of you so very much for the insane reception to this story, and I hope that I can continue it soon. Once again, this is NOT an abandonment. This story is my baby and my favorite thing I have ever written, and I will continue it as soon as I can get out of bed for something I'm not required to do.  
Yours in fandom, smiles, and strife,  
The Sarcastic Witch


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